Alone
by nonwriter02
Summary: When the trio returns for their 5th year, they're in for possibly their hardest year yet. From the new professor, to You-Know-Who's return, to a problem Hermione faces alone. When she has to hide a relationship from not only the school, but also her best friends, she discovers that this year may be even harder than she thought. Can she keep her relationship hidden from her friends?
1. Chapter 1

Hermione was excited to be going back for her 5th year at Hogwarts. She would miss her parents terribly, but she was used to that by now. Besides, how could she focus on that when she was about to start another exciting year back at school? She was at  
King's Cross with Harry, Ron, the rest of the Weasleys, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, and Sirius getting ready to board Platform 9 and 3/4. She was talking to Ginny about the upcoming school year when she caught a glance of a certain blond haired Slytherin.  
Hermione realized how much better-looking Malfoy was now than he had been only two months ago. She was about to mention something to Ginny when she realized this was the boy that had constantly bullied and harassed not only her, but also her friends  
for the past four years. She looked back at him and right when she realized she was staring and was about to look away, she made eye contact with him. She hurriedly looked back at Ginny,and blushed with the idea of being caught looking at him.

Ginny noticed the heavy blush in Hermione's face and asked, "Um... Hermione? Are you okay? You're face has gone red all of a sudden."

"What? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine it's just really hot out."

It being a fairly cool 70 degrees outside, Ginny knew Hermione was lying, but decided to let it go anyway.

"Oh okay. Well we better get on the train soon."

Hermione still had to put her trunk on the train, but asked Ginny to save her a seat next to her. Before she turned to walk to the trunk compartments, she glanced one more time at Malfoy and caught him smirking at her. She knew that was weird, but decided  
to shake it off and forget about it. She struggled lifting her heavy trunk onto the train for a few minutes then finally managed to get it in all the way. When she entered the compartment that her friends were all sitting in she immediately noticed  
the awkward tension. At first she was confused about it, but when she sat down next to Ginny, she noticed a dirty-blond haired girl sitting across from her with an upside-down magazine covering her face. She looked at Ginny questioningly and Ginny  
answered her unasked question.

"This is Luna Lovegood. She's in my year, but in Ravenclaw." Upon hearing her name, Luna put her magazine down so the others could see her face. She was pale with a slightly vague look on her face as if she wasn't concentrating on any one thing, but rather  
looking through everything around her. If that didn't put the others sitting near her off enough, she also had her wand stuck behind her ear. Though no one but Ginny had heard of her until then, she seemed to know everyone there, even Neville. She  
seemed nice enough, but a bit odd for Hermione's taste.

-JUMP TO WELCOME FEAST-

At the welcome feast, the students met their new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Umbridge. She interrupted Professor Dumbledore and even though that one action confused and even slightly irritated the students and staff, what really caught  
Hermione's attention, and even enraged her quite a bit, was that everything Professor Umbridge said, made it quite clear that the Ministry was interfering at Hogwarts. She forgot about it, however, when she started gossiping with Ginny over which  
boys they thought were attractive. While listing a few boys, Hermione caught herself unconsciously looking at Malfoy over at the Slytherin table. As soon as the realized this, she looked away hoping that Ginny hadn't seen. However, luck wasn't on  
her side. When Ginny saw who Hermione was staring at, she gasped loudly. The people around her all stopped talking and looked at her curiously. If she hadn't been so focused on Hermione, she would've been embarrassed. At that particular moment, however,  
she didn't care. The eyes looking her way did remind her that there were people within hearing distance, though, so instead of talking at her usual volume, she whispered.

"Hermione! How can you like that disgusting excuse of a human being?! He has bullied you, harassed you, embarrassed you, insulted you, called you slurs, even made you cry a couple of times! And you like him? Malfoy? Come on! You musn't be serious!" Neither  
of them realized it, but Ron who was on the other side of Ginny had heard everything and at the word Malfoy, his body visibly tensed . He was about to say something but then heard Hermione's retaliation.

"I don't like Malfoy, Ginny! I wasn't even looking at hi-" When Ginny gave her a are-you-kidding-me-right-now-look, she paused. "Okay yes. So I was looking at him. It doesn't mean anything! I don't like him I was just realizing that he looks better as  
the ferret Moody turned him into last year. That's ALL. Calm down!" This, of course, was a lie. In reality, she was realizing how mysterious his gorgeous grey eyes were, and how they lit up when he smiled, but she was also reminding herself how much  
she and him hate each other.

At her response, Ron's tense body noticeably relaxed, but both Ginny and Hermione were both too caught up in their heated conversation to see.

* * *

 **A/n**

So what do you think? This is my first time writing a story so I would appreciate reviews and constructive criticism, but I will ignore any blatant insults that are meant to just tear me down rather than to help me. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope  
you enjoyed it!


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning was the students' first day of classes, but Hermione was alone in being excited to be back to work. At breakfast the 5th year Gryffindors were all speaking with bent heads to compare schedules. Most of their lessons were the same because the Gryffindors all had core classes together, but Hermione had a few different classes from the rest. While she had Arithmancy, the rest had either a different lesson, or a free block like Harry and Ron did. She also had Ancient Runes rather than Divination, like the rest of her friends. She was excited to be going to these classes because she found them simply fascinating, but she was worried that she would have no one to sit with or partner with because she shared this class with none of the rest of her house.

After sitting through their first lesson of the day, History of Magic, which all of them slept through excluding Hermione, of course, the Gryffindors made their way to the dungeons, dragging their feet because their schedules stated that this was one of three classes they would be sharing with the Slytherins. When they reached the dungeon which held the Potions classroom, they saw that the Slytherins were already there. Hermione's eyes were drawn almost automatically to Malfoy's tall, lanky body. She felt a strange sensation (she almost thought was jealousy before she realized how absurd she was being) when she saw that Malfoy's usual slut, Parkinson, was hanging on his arm and speaking animatedly to him. She felt... She wasn't really sure what, but she thought it felt a bit like relief when she noticed that he looked extremely bored with Parkinson. When he looked her way, she quickly averted her eyes before he could see her looking at him. At least she thought he hadn't seen, but in reality, he knew she was staring his way. If he was being honest with himself, though, he liked it a little. He didn't hate knowing that he drew her attention.

Before the class started, Snape set up their partnerships. Harry was with Blaise Zabini,while Ron was with Theodore Nott. As for her, she was, unfortunately, stuck with Malfoy. This being Snape, it was certain that he would give them an extremely difficult task for their first lesson back to school, and he didn't disappoint. Their lesson for the day was to create the potion, Draught of Peace. It was one of the most difficult potions she had ever attempted to make before, and it didn't help that Malfoy kept distracting her both by his looks and his attitude. Though he was more attractive than he was last year, he was still the same annoying, bullying prat that he had been the year before.

"No Granger! You're supposed to add syrup of hellebore _after_ stirring the potion, not before. Honestly, do you know nothing? No wonder I'm better than you at Potions, you're simply not smart enough. Either that, or you don't know how to read.

This certainly got a rise out of Hermione, which is what Malfoy secretly wanted. He loved seeing her get angry. He loved seeing the gentle flush in her cheeks, which got more and more pronounced every time he said something that made her angrier, and the way her curly hair practically crackled with energy when she got angry. The look in her eyes when she glared at him, however, wasn't how he wanted her to look at him, but if it got her to look at him, then he was willing to make the sacrifice. Of course, he would never admit any of this to anyone but himself. If anyone else asked him why he loved getting her so angry, he simply told them it was his hatred for her because she was a filthy Mudblood and and that he loved getting under her skin.

"Shut up, Malfoy, you are _not_ better than me in Potions. And I'm more than smart enough to create this potion! I also definitely know how to read, considering I read more in a day than you read in an entire month. I made a simple mistake is all."

"I am certainly better than you at Potions, Granger, denial isn't going to change that. And obviously you read more in a day than I do in a month because I have a life and people who actually _want_ to hang around me, and you don't."

"Whatever, Malfoy. Let's just finish this potion so that I can get out of your company as soon as I possibly can."

"Agreed, Mudblood."

Hermione hated when he called her mudblood because that meant that no matter how smart she was, or how hard she worked, he would be better than her. She never thought that he was better than her, in fact, she knew for a fact that he wasn't better than her, but he and others would always think he was better than she was simply because he was a pureblood, and she hated that. But today, hearing that name made her twice as angry as it usually did, and further more, it didn't just make her angry, it actually hurt her to hear him call her that. She didn't even know why. "I mean why should I care? He's called me that since second year! It hasn't bothered me since the first time he called me that. I've gotten used to it, so why is it bothering me?" she thought to herself. God, she hated that name so much, in fact, she was seeing red. What she hated more, though, was that there was nothing she could call him or say in return that would hurt him as much as he could hurt her.

So instead, she slapped him.

* * *

 **A/n**

Well, this was the second chapter. There wasn't really a lot of plot, but its only the beginning. Hope you enjoyed, and if you have anything you want to see in upcoming chapters, review. If I like it, I'll try to add it to the plot. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Everything went silent. At the sound of Hermione's hand hitting Draco's face, everyone stopped what they were doing. All anyone could do was stare at the pair. No one could believe that goody-two-shoes Granger, actually laid a hand on someone. Of course, no one knew that this wasn't the first time Hermione had gotten physical with Malfoy. However, the pair knew, and they were both reliving third year when Hermione had punched him. After a minute's silence, which had felt like a lifetime, Snape finally spoke up.

"Well the know-it-all finally snapped. A week's detention and 50 points from Gryffindor. Report to your Head of House," he said with venom.

He hastily wrote a note and handed it to her. Herrmione, still in shock of what she had done, mutely took the note, nodded, gathered her things, and left the classroom with all eyes still on her. Harry and Ron were more shocked than anyone, for they had only ever seen Hermione's temper get the best of her once before.

"Well? What are you doing? Get back to work!" Snape ordered.

While everyone else reluctantly got back to their potions, Draco was quietly excused from his work by the Potions master, since he no longer had a partner. He decided to go back to his dormitory and take advantage of his newly found free time. However, all he could focus on was the frizzy haired girl who slapped him. He couldn't understand why she had taken the slur so personally this time, when in the past, she had simply let it roll off her back. Why was this time different?

-MEANWHILE-

Hermione walked to Professor Mcgonagall's classroom deep in thought.

"How could I let him get to me? I never act rashly. Logic. I act logically, but I just snap all of a sudden? What is wrong with me."

"She timidly knocked on Professor Mcgonagall's classroom door before entering. She nervously handed her Professor Snape's note.

"Miss Granger! I'm appalled at your actions! Laying your hand on another student. This is not at all like you. Is something going on with you?"

"Hermione was confused and, frankly, surprised. She expected to be yelled at. Scolded. Berated. She did not expect Professor McGonagall to start acting like a counselor.

"No, Professor. Nothing's wrong. My temper got the best of me, but I swear it will not be happening again.

"Well, that's good to hear. You see to it that you keep your word. I assume you have already been punished?"

Hermione nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. Professor Snape assigned me a week's detention and took off 50 points."

"I see. Well then, that will be all. I will speak with Professor Snape and arrange the detentions. I will get word to you when we have figured out the details."

"Yes ma'am."

Hermione quickly left before the, usually, strict teacher could change her mind. She hurriedly made her way to Gryffindor tower for her free block. As expected, Ron and Harry bombarded her with questions the moment she entered the common room. She told the boys what Malfoy had called her, and they were angry, as they always were when she was called mudblood, but they didn't understand why she suddenly lost her temper. However, she couldn't explain why, and was getting tired of them asking the same question, so they quickly left it alone.

She later left the common room alone to go to Arithmancy, which she didn't share with any other Gryffindors in her year. She just hoped she could find someone nice to sit with. However, luck was not on her side when she found that there was a seating chart for this class. One that promoted inter house friendliness by having four students, one from each house, sitting at a table together. Her table consisted of Susan Bones, Terry Boot, and… Draco Malfoy. Susan and Terry were already sitting next to each other, having a conversation, so she reluctantly dropped into the chair across from Susan. Malfoy strutted in the door right as the bell rung. Hermione felt extremely awkward sitting next to the boy she had slapped just hours ago, but thankfully Malfoy didn't comment on her presence, and just sat down. Rather than saying anything to her at all, he pretended as if she wasn't there at all. Hermione gratefully returned the silent treatment.

Just when she had thought she had made it out safely, Professor Vector announced, "We will be beginning partner projects next class period." All of the students automatically started looking for a friend to work with.

"Your partners have already been chosen," Professor Vector continued.

A collective groan answered her statement. The bell rang suddenly and Hermione was taken by surprise. She slowly gathered her things, and by the time she was walking to the door, the rest of the class was already gone. Deep in thought, she didn't notice the presences outside the door until they were almost on top of her. She had just managed to run into two people she did not want to be caught alone with.

Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini.

Who already had their wands pointed at her.

* * *

 **A/n**

For those of you who followed my story, I'm eternally sorry for the long awaited update. I promise I will have another update again ASAP. Anyway, reviews are always welcome, appreciated, and wanted. If anyone has any ideas of how they want the story to go, plot ideas are also welcome because I'm unfortunately suffering from writer's block. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed!


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